Superior, Lake

Largest and deepest of the Great Lakes and the largest freshwater lake in the world; area 82,100 sq km/31,700 sq mi. Extending east–west for 616 km/385 mi, it reaches a maximum width of 260 km/163 mi and depth of 407 m/1,335 ft. The lake is bordered by the Canadian province of Ontario and the US states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. As the westernmost of the Great Lakes, Superior is at the western end of the St Lawrence Seaway.

Duluth, Minnesota, is the largest US city on its shores, and with its sister city, Superior, Wisconsin, it is the busiest Great Lakes port, shipping grain and iron ore to the USA and Europe. Also on Lake Superior is Canada's busiest Great Lakes port, Thunder Bay, Ontario, which ships coal and grain chiefly to points in eastern Canada. Ice closes the ports from December to mid-April.